Touch Art Gallery in collaboration with Swissnex Boston as an institutional sponsor are pleased to announce a solo exhibition of recent works by the Iranian-born Swiss artist “Artemis Akchoti Shahbazi”. “A contemporary interpretation of Ferdowsi’s A King’s Book of Kings“. Along with select narratives paintings, the exhibition juxtaposes portraits of Ferdowsi’s mythic kings and queens with those from the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties.

Reception is on Friday May 2nd from 5-8 PM. The exhibition is open to the public from April 29th to May 18th. Please join us to see the exhibition and meet the artist.

About the Artist

Artemis Akchoti Shahbazi is an Iranian-born Swiss artist, residing in the United States. She is a graduate of the University of Geneva and of  Boston University who investigates cultures through portraiture. Her work is in important private collections in the USA and in Europe.

About the Series

“A contemporary interpretation of Ferdowsi’s A King’s Book of Kings” is a series that includes the first Iranian Kings from Ferdowsi’s creation myths, alongside the last monarchs from the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties.  Contrary to the narrative miniatures typically used to illustrate Ferdowsi’s epic poem, Artemis’ kings and queens are portraits, each the result of a thorough investigation of the esthetic elements attributed to each ruler by Ferdowsi or, in the case of the more recent dynasties, the study of 19th century travelogues, painted portraits and photographs. The artist tempers this approach by perusing contemporary faces of random people who wear a given ruler’s name.  All the portraits are symbolically non realistic, informed by poetry, prose and the artist’s investigations. The emphasis is on working within the predetermined shapes and dimensions for each ruler and on how the natural place and shape of things have been manipulated to challenge the viewer’s recognition of expected esthetics, forms, colors and concepts.